Everyone was scared. There had been one rape/murder in January, two in February, three in March and now it was the first week of April. School administrators had hired additional security, still no female on campus felt safe.

Sally could feel prickles on the back of her neck as though the very hair follicles were nervous and jumpy. Looking around for the source of her discomfort she saw him. He looked at her long and steady, then shifted his focus somewhere behind and to the right of her. From time to time he would duck behind one of the large planters that dotted the airy glass room.

Sally jumped when Nina’s books hit the table and Nina dropped into a chair. “Sorry Sal, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Sally confided in her friend, “There is a guy over there,” she nodded her head in his direction, “who’s been watching me since I sat down.”

“Which one?” Nina craned her head to see.

“He has long wavy brown hair.” Nina continued to look. “Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans,” Sally supplied further description.

“The one with the headphones?”

“Yeah, he’s the one.”

“Damn girl, he’s cute! I wouldn’t mind him watching me.” Nina fluffed her short blonde hair.

“Nina! The bleach you use on your hair has finally gotten to your brain. It’s creepy!”

Nina, never known for her finesse, turned one of the flyers to face her direction. “He’s probably just amazed at how much you look like these girls. They all look enough alike to be sisters, your sisters.”

Yearbook pictures of five students marched across the top of the page. Each picture gave a name and below each a date of birth and date of death. They were the victims of the serial murderer/rapist who was terrorizing the campus. A bold line of print below the pictures and dates read: DON’T BE NEXT.  Safety tips followed it.

     Don’t open your doors to strangers.

Avoid isolated locations.

Avoid areas that provide hiding places such as shrubs or low fences.

Park as close as possible to your destination and in a well-lit area.

If you must walk after dark walk in a group or ask for a security escort.

“Gee thanks, Nina, that makes me feel so much better.” Sally returned her gaze to the flyer in front of her. Sally studied the pictures again. Nina was right! Every girl pictured had her same shoulder length light brown hair and the same shape face, there were other similarities among them. Sally could almost see herself staring back from the pictures.

Sally shuttered. “I’m being ridiculous! This is a huge school. He could have been here every day at this time and I just never noticed before. Besides what self-respecting rapist would want Miss Sally Granola from Cornfield, Kansas as his next victim.” She poked her index fingers into her cheeks and made an exaggerated wide fake smile.

Nina laughed, “Homegirl, there is nothing wrong with being wholesome.”

“Laugh if you like but it’s tough being a minister’s kid. I had to beg for months just to get my ears pierced.”

“Oh, I see. This is about fuddy mommy and duddy daddy who will kill you if you bleach your hair,” she used her right index finger to count off the offenses on the fingers of her left hand, “get a tattoo, or put any unnecessary holes in your body.”

“Whatever. Anyway this rapist,” Sally tapped the flyer, “has all of us dodging our own shadows.”

“Let’s get out of here, you’re going off the edge and taking me with you.” They gathered their books and walking to the library Nina asked, “Is there really a ‘Cornfield, Kansas’?”

“How would I know, I’ve never been to Kansas, but you know what I mean.”

Twenty minutes later Sally and Nina were in the library studying. Out of nowhere a cold draft of wind settled on Sally’s neck like the gentle kiss of a lover and the prickles began again. Sally stood and looked around seeing no one unusual. She walked to the card catalogue to find a book. Returning to her seat she sensed a movement above her, and looked up in time to see him walk into the stacks one level up. He reappeared and looked down making eye contact. Then he shifted his gaze to a security guard who was standing with his arms crossed on his chest, rocking back and forth on his heels while guarding the stacks and lower floor. Sally looked at the guard who tipped his hat to her. When she looked back where the watcher had stood he was gone. She saw him one more time in the library, alone in the hallway, leaning against a wall with his head down mumbling to himself.

Sally and Nina went their separate ways from the library. Sally had an English Lit class, then she was scheduled to work four hours in the campus bookstore.

She did not see him again, the watcher, until she was behind a register at the bookstore. He entered the store and strolled around, paying particular attention to the security guards in the store, as though trying to stay out of their line of vision. He moved around the store picking up an occasional item to examine before moving on while glancing Sally’s way from time to time. Her discomfort grew with each look. Finally, the watcher left the store looking in Sally’s direction one last time and smiling.

During her break, Sally walked to the glass storefront and looked out. She spotted him leaning against a tree watching the front door while talking to himself again. He was gesturing wildly with his hands as if arguing with some unseen person. When a customer walked out the door the watcher fell silent and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

At closing time Sally asked the store manager, Ms. Daniel, for a ride to her dorm saying she had twisted an ankle. She was embarrassed to say she thought she was being stalked, maybe by The Kiss of Death Rapist. A security guard waited and walked them to Ms. Daniel’s car. Sally decided she would say something to the guard if the watcher was still outside, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Safe inside her dorm and surrounded by familiar faces, Sally convinced herself that she was a victim only of her own imagination. “Watcher is just another student; it was just coincidence that I saw him so many times during the day. And, everyone talks to themselves; aren’t I doing that right now?” Sally went to sleep vowing to watch fewer cop shows on television.

Sure enough, the next morning there was no watcher outside her dorm. She did not see him anywhere as she went from class to class. By noon Sally stopped looking over her shoulder and relaxed enough to enjoy the beautiful spring day.

Sally met Nina for lunch at a popular student hangout, a burger joint called Grindage 101, and joked about her paranoia. “When I woke up this morning and didn’t find a line of male hotties waiting for me outside my door I decided I was probably safe from the attention of any rapist. Besides I haven’t seen the guy all day.”

Nina tried to defend Sally’s action, “Well, you do look like those other girls, that alone is enough to justify some suspicion.”

“Those pictures are standard yearbook head shots; they could look like a hundred girls on this campus. You can’t tell from those pictures if they are all the same size, the same body type, walk or talk or dress in the same style. I just let my imagination run wild.”

By the time Sally reported to work at the bookstore the phantom watcher was all but forgotten. Sally even let her guard down enough to tell Ms. Daniel about her misadventure and apologize for costing them a customer. A crease formed on Ms. Daniel’s brow. “I’m going to drive you home each evening until the danger is past,” she said.

Business was slow and Sally was not needed on a register so she was asked to help restock and to dust the displays in the front windows. Sally grabbed a feather duster from the back room and hummed as she set about her assignment. She was almost finished when she happened to look out the window. A carefully arranged display of new books tumbled beneath her hands when Sally realized the watcher was sitting on the end of a bus stop bench. Now wearing jeans and a denim jacket, he was positioned so that he could see everyone who came in or out of the store. Again he was wearing his headphones and once more talking to himself.

Sally mentally shook herself, “There you go again, he’s waiting on a bus, and maybe he’s singing along with his music!” She began repairing the damage she had wreaked on the display.

A short time later Ms. Daniel walked out of her office carrying her purse and pulling on her coat. “Sally, I have a sick kid at home, I have to go. I’ve asked for a security guard to see that you get home safely. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, go take care of your baby.”

After Ms Daniel left a security guard planted himself near the front door. He stood there with arms crossed across his chest and feet slightly spread. He was neither large nor tough looking but just the sight of his uniform made Sally feel safe.

The front doors were locked promptly at eight each night. It was still early in the year and fully dark outside. Sally disappeared into the employee lounge and gathered her purse, books, and jacket from her locker. As she walked to the front door she saw a second security guard tap on the front door with his knuckle. The guard posted at the door opened it and Sally heard the new guard say he had been sent to escort a young lady home. Sally came forward, “I’m afraid I’m the one.”

The first guard spoke up, “He must be here for one of the other girls,” he nodded to where two other young women were counting money from registers, “I was waiting for you.”

Sally looked at the guard’s nametag, “Thank you Officer Dalton. I should have realized you were, you’ve been nearby all evening. I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble but I do appreciate your company.”       

At the end of the first block Sally shifted her books in her arms and they fell. Papers scattered over the sidewalk. She squatted down to gather them and as she was stood up she saw him dart out of a circle of light into a bank of blooming azalea bushes. Even without seeing his face she knew it was the watcher, she recognized his clothes and the ever-present headphones.

The sound of Dalton’s voice startled her. “Do you always walk home the same route?”

“Yes, the shortest distance between point A and point B. I’ve been walking this campus at all hours for the past three years and I’ve never been afraid before now.” Sally told the guard.

“Predictability can work against you.” At the corner where Sally usually turned right Dalton lead her straight ahead.

Terror as cold as wind off a frozen lake settled around Sally like a blanket. “I think I’m being followed.”

“I know! I’ve chosen you to be next,” Dalton hissed.

Sally looked up into eyes as hard and black as polished onyx. She threw her books at Dalton and ran but he grabbed her by her hair. She heard a click and saw light dance off the blade of a knife as he pulled her between two buildings.

Sally was blinded by surge of light but she heard someone yell, “Police! Drop the knife and let her go!”

Dalton screeched, “You’ll have to kill me.” Then Sally felt the knife press into the soft skin of her neck and felt her own warm blood trickle from the wound. She heard a loud belch of gunfire and she crumpled to the ground dragged down by the weight of Dalton’s body.

Sally’s vision returned as he lowered the flashlight, enough for her to see her watcher lower his head to his chest and call out, “The scumbag is down. And the girl is in shock. Send me an ambulance,” he looked around quickly, “We’re between two red brick buildings on Nightingale, just North of Mimosa.”

She saw the watcher smile down at her and say; “You’ll be okay now,” as blissful blackness engulfed her.

In the hospital with the little nick in her neck cleaned and dressed, Sally was being celebrated as a hero. The police interviewed her and recorded her statements but her watcher was not among them.

Finally a big burly cop in uniform explained. “He’s covert, one of our best, and we don’t want his cover blown. He knew he was making you nervous. We even argued about it last night while he was waiting outside the bookstore.” At Sally’s puzzled look the cop explained. “Those headphones held a receiver so that he could hear us and a transmitter hidden in his shirt allowed us to hear him. He knew you were suspicious of him and he was afraid you would tip Dalton off.”

“I wanted to thank him for watching me and saving my life.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. He was never following you, he was tailing Dalton.”

Contact the Author -lintintwo@hotmail.com